It is that time of year again

how about gooseberry wine?

Last year I only planted one courgette and that was quite enough.
I confirm that courgette cake is good though. Remember to squeeze the fluid out after you've grated them.
We always have a surplus of apples. I'm thinking of trying to make cider this year. Has anyone ever made it?

You can make a cake with them but it's very moist and goes mouldy within a very short time. Invite plenty of people to share it!

Moenica
Am envious
Love gooseberries but mine all go mourdy however much I try to make a bowl shape... put them in a through draught etc
They are all cutting s from my aunt's plants and her gooseberries were as big as bantam eggs. She is now deceased... has anyone any suggestions?? please?

sorry mouldy

Gooseberries......shudder.

Courgettes are very nothing-y all water and tastelessness.The only good way to cook them is with sliced peppers and tomatoes in the oven with oil and garlic pepper. Roast Med veg.

Only growing tomatoes and runner beans this year, easy to grow.

I ate an excellent chocolate courgette cake at a NT house last week. It was similar in texture to a carrot cake. I wish I'd thought to ask for the recipe.

I haven't got room for more than a couple of tomato plants & strawberries in a special planter.

I only like courgettes either done in the oven or lightly fried with whatever else I have hanging around.

My parents had a very large garden & grew most types of fruit & veg in the 50s, 60s & early 70s, nothing exotic in those days.

Here is a recipe for Walter the Saint's Speedy Apple Cider. I haven't tried it but it is on my "to do" list for next autumn here in the antipodes.

- 1.5kg frozen cooking apples (mix with crabapples if you're using sweet apples from the supermarket)
- 5.7 litres of water
- 1kg white sugar
- 3 juicy lemons - juice and zest

Note: you dont need to add yeast. There's enough yeast on the apple skins and floating in the air at this time of the year.

Freeze the apples for three days in closed plastic bags in the freezer. Wipe the defrosted apples, cut into pieces and whizz up in your blender. Dont peel or core the apples put it all in. Add water as you blend the apples to pulp them all. Place the apple pulp and the rest of the water in a large bucket. Cover with a tea towel. Leave for 7 days, stirring well night and morning. Then strain the apple pulp through cheesecloth/muslin, reserving the juice. Discard the pulp. Return the juice to the bucket, add sugar, grated lemon rind and strained lemon juice. Leave for 48 hours. Strain and bottle in recycled plastic drink bottles. Drink after one week as sparkling apple juice, or leave to ferment fully. After a few months it will turn from cloudy to clear. Watch out though: its very explosive.

Oh, by the way, I would store it in the garage or somewhere "safe" in case the bottles do explode. Also, be sure to use plastic bottles. I had elderflower champagne stored in a shed. It would have been very dangerous if someone had been around at the time as the glass bottles shattered.

Listening to Jack Dee on "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" yesterday, he suggested that during a courgette shortage last year a good alternative was to tear cardboard into strips, moisten with warm water and then drizzle with more warm water! Might work, my lot won't eat them, ever!
Tricia, one year I made the most lovely apple wine, worth a try?

|I use surplus courgettes in Ratatouille with a few other ingredients. The gooseberry and elderflower cake sounds interesting.

I am new to gardening (shameful, given that I am hurtling full pelt towards my 60s!) but I have taken to container gardening, in the hopes of being able to identify what are actually plants and what are weeds (hence previous attempts at growing anything failing miserably as I was scared to pull anything up that I thought may have been a weed, but could actually have been what I was trying to grow).

I have one container with a green courgette plant in it (which has one tiny courgette growing) and one container with a golden courgette plant in it (which is going mental - must be at least 6 growing now). Plants were bought at a car boot sale.

I also have two golden raspberry plants in two containers, ( from the same car boot sale) which are producing loads of lovely fruit.

I then have two red raspberry plants (bought at huge relative cost, from a garden centre) one of which has one raspberry on it, and the other which has died. Will not be buying from a garden centre again.

The strawberries have been absolutely pathetic this year. I can count on the fingers of two hands the number of fruit we have actually managed to pick this year. We have four containers with strawberries, each with a different variety of strawberry in it. Really disappointed in those. They are putting out runners and trying to establish themselves in the grass though - will have to follow my mother in law's instructions for propagating them properly for next year

I have two red tomato plants, and one yellow tomato plant. I can't remember which is which so will have to wait until the seven tomatoes I can count, have ripened to see what they are.

I am becoming quite enamoured by this growing business!!! I bought four "dwarf patio" fruit trees from Groupon last week which are now planted, and although I don't expect anything from them this year, next year I am hoping for loads of Granny Smith and Braeburn apples, conference pears and plums.

Blimey - I'll be after an allotment next

Went to an Italian restaurant last week and had the most delicious courgettes deep fried in batter. Could have eaten bowlsful of them

CrazyDaisy and Maggieann - thanks for the encouragement - I'll definitely give one of those ideas a go.
It's a shame to waste them, they're a delicious apple but there's a limit to how many we can eat!

Ours are still quite small but will probably grow like mad with the rain we've had today.

I would make courgette and lime cake if I wasn't on a diet

The gooseberries are very small this year, lack of rain earlier said DH.

HurdyGurdy I have picked strawberries from the garden for the first time this year! A friend gave me some plants and they have produced, so thrilled as I've never had any success before now.
I did have to put straw under them and netting on the top (slugs and birds both vying to get to them before me).

nvella I have lovely memories of sitting in a beach restaurant in Skopalos and the restaurant owner bringing us out those as we waited for our fish to be cooked. Absolutely divine.

Deep fried courgette chips are very nice indeed. Make a light tempura batter with cornflour and iced water, dip courgette batons in this and deep fry until rich golden colour. You will need plenty of salt and pepper on them, and some people like a dip, tho' I like them just as they are!

Please can I have advice for easy care gardening. Any plants or ideas to cut the work down.

Sorry , meant to create a new post!

Shrubs I think maybe underplanted with spring bulbs. loop

Whitewave is correct. Plant shrubs, like Choisya or just click on this blue link for other easy low maintenance shrubs

We love them, sluttygran. We also dip the flowers in the batter and flash fry them as well.

The only good reason I can think of about growing courgettes is that they give good ground cover, suppress the weeds. Pumpkins are even better for ground cover. Bonny flowers too.